Quadrille
A square dance for four couples, built from several short sections
Related
A quadrille is a nineteenth-century ballroom square dance for four couples: the music usually strings together five short sections of different character, each matching a figure, like a miniature suite.
It is related to the contredanse, but the quadrille is later and more formal; it differs from a suite: its sections serve dance figures, not listening. The usual mistake is to confuse it with a quartet — the quadrille is a dance form, not an instrumental ensemble.
Read deeper → contredanse
Sources
- 方阵舞的舞厅形式与音乐结构，参 The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, "Quadrille"；本文为原创表述
Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.